In wireless communications systems, registration is the process by which a mobile station notifies a base station of its location, status, identification, slot cycle, and other characteristics. The mobile station informs the base station of its location and status so that the base station can efficiently page the mobile station when establishing a mobile station-terminated call. Paging a mobile station includes the act of seeking the mobile station when a call has been placed to that mobile station. To reduce call set up in some applications, it is desirable to minimize registration and paging cycles.
For example, a class of wireless services intended for quick, efficient, one-to-one or one-to-many (group) communication has existed in various forms for many years. In general, these services have been half-duplex, where a user presses a “push-to-talk” (PTT) button on a phone/radio to initiate a group call. If granted the floor, the talker then generally speaks for a few seconds. After the talker releases the PTT button, other users may request the floor. These services have traditionally been used in applications where one person, a “dispatcher,” needs to communicate with a group of people, such as field service personnel or construction site workers, which is where the “dispatch” name for the service comes from. Similar services have been offered on the Internet and are generally known as “voice chat.” A key feature of these services is the desirability of quick call set ups. Therefore, registration and paging need to be optimized accordingly.
There is a need, therefore, for mechanisms to shorten paging cycles for paging a group of target mobile stations.